9 little attitude adjustments that add up to success

By Michael Crump | 08 August 2017

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Almost everyone wants to succeed in education, especially when returning to study as an adult. It’s great when you make the commitment to do an online course, put in the hours and work hard. But there’s one more thing that makes a real difference to successfully completing your education: your attitude. We’re going to look at 9 easy ways to adjust your mindset so you stay the distance and get the results you deserve.

Sometimes all it takes to succeed is a slight adjustment of your attitude. If you go into study with the right mindset, you are more likely to succeed in everything you set out to do. Here are 9 small adjustments to make to hit the ground running when studying a course. Check out Time Management Tips for Effective & Successful Online Study for a few more ideas.

#1: Mind your language

Before you can change your mindset and prime it for success, you have to mind your language. So, start at the top, and do away with words that aren't doing you any favours - words like can’t and couldn't, won’t and wouldn't.

#2: Banish negative thinking

Negative thinking builds a wall between you and what you want to achieve. Take down that wall with positive thinking, so “I can’t do this” becomes “I’ll find a way”. Positive thinking equals positive results - just one simple trick, and highly effective too.

#3: Invest in yourself

Who’s responsible for your education? Don’t take too long to answer this one. If your first thought was the trainers or how the course is designed, you've hit on just 50% of the answer. The other 50% is you. Think about it: when it comes to that essay, coursework or exam, there’s only you in the chair.

#4: Take responsibility for your learning outcomes

Don’t play the blame game when the going gets tough and things aren't making sense: education is a partnership, which means it’s also up to you to find a way to make it work. Take responsibility for your learning outcomes.

#5: Have control

And that leads us neatly on to adjusting your attitude so you take responsibility for your education and take control of it. Write lists, print out schedules, draw a mind map - how you do it is up to you. The point of the exercise is to end up with something to help you plan ahead, reinforcing the attitude that you’re in charge here. This attitude adjustment puts you behind the wheel, steering yourself in the direction you want to go.

#6: Acknowledge that the path can be bumpy

Before you engage gears, don’t expect the road ahead to be dead straight and traffic-free. Who wants to be driving that road anyway? Crooked paths are usually the most interesting, so change your attitude towards wrong turns: this is where the real learning gets done.

#7: Mistakes can be beneficial too

You can learn as much from your mistakes as you learn from your successes, and sometimes you learn more. If you don’t get the grade you wanted, treat it as an opportunity to get back into the driving seat with a much better map than the one you had before. When all’s said and done, if you've travelled from A to B via P,Q and R, you've seen a whole lot more of the landscape.

#8: Future-cast

Whatever you’re studying, you’ll have a schedule: essay deadlines, tutorials, exam dates, next week’s lessons, and it’s tempting to think no further than the next few days. Here’s a key attitude adjustment: remember the future. After all, you’re in education because there’s something you want to do. See yourself doing it, and keep that image alive. Think long-term, and don’t be afraid to think big.

#9: There is no such thing as boredom

That attitude adjustment makes this one a whole lot easier: refuse to be bored. Take the attitude that boredom is not something that happens to us: we do it to ourselves. Decide you’re the kind of person who finds something of interest in everything – so if it’s ground you've covered before and know well, you’re the kind of person who decides to dig even deeper into the subject.

Adjust your attitude to study & adjust your life

When you’re in education, you’re in control. It just takes these attitude adjustments to realise it. People who approach their education with a positive mindset and an open mind are loading the odds in their favour, making it more likely that they’ll complete their education successfully – and get much more enjoyment out if it along the way.

Michael Crump
Michael has worked in the education industry for over 10 years, with institutions such as The University of Sydney, Study Group and Upskilled. Michael is passionate about online learning and technology and believes strongly in ensuring education is available to all Australians no matter what their situation.